About The Madeleine Brand Show

The Madeleine Brand Show, exclusively on 89.3 KPCC, 89.1 KUOR and 90.3 KVLA, captures the spirit of the West in a conversational, informal, witty style and examines the cultural issues people are buzzing about. Hosted by Madeleine Brand, and produced by Kristen Muller, Steve Proffitt and Sanden Totten, the show includes regular segments like Weird L.A. - highlighting a person, place or thing that you've never heard about, but probably should; Parenting on the Edge - a weekly discussion on the challenges and pitfalls of raising kids; as well as regular contributors like Luke Burbank, Rico Gagliano, Brendan Newnam and John Moe to help dissect culture, technology and business news.

SAT prep books line the shelves of Barnes and Noble in New York City. An official at Claremont McKenna College admitted to falsifying the SAT scores of incoming freshman students in order to improve the school's standing in rankings from publications like U.S. News and World Report.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

The prestigious Claremont McKenna College, just east of Los Angeles, is under scrutiny for inflating the SAT scores of its incoming students. A top official at the liberal arts school admitted to exaggerating the numbers to improve the school's ranking by publications like U.S. News and World Report.

Colleges are under increasing pressure to move up in these widely-read rankings, and just a matter of a few points on SAT scores can mean the difference between being in the top 10, or falling to number 11.

Barmak Nassirian joins the show to discuss how the rankings are affecting higher education. He's an official at the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, a professional association that safeguards quality in higher education.